When Harry met Sally
by lochrann
Summary: An important first meeting. No pairing, even though the title may imply something else.


It was a dark day for pirates all over the world. It was the day of the pirate king Gol D. Roger's execution. Lougetown, the town of the beginning and now apparently the end, was swarming with marines, pirates, press and just general bystanders. A tall and dark figure pushed it's way away from the bustling town center where the atmosphere was practically electric, masses of people waiting for the execution to begin, all of them hoping to get one last glance at the most notorious pirate to have ever lived. The tall man had no interest in seeing this spectacle the marines had put up to show the world how powerful and influential they were, but like every other half-way informed pirate the man new that Gol D. Roger's scheduled execution was not the marines achievement. He wasn't prepared to watch this farce of an ending. Pushing further through the crowd the man finally managed to leave the site of the upcoming execution. He turned a corner down a small alley and walked along it passing only a few people heading towards the town center. The man stopped at a stairwell leading down to a cellar that had been converted into a dingy pub. With one last look in the direction of the excited crowed he descended down the steps and entered the dark and smelly room accompanied by the ringing of a bell hanging over the door.

For a short second he could hardly see anything but he had the trained scenes of a sniper and already knew that there were only four people in the room including the barkeep making a squeaky noise while cleaning a glass with a moist cloth. He gave the man who had just entered his pub a short once over and gave him a nod. The tall man reciprocated the nod and headed towards the bar passing two old men sitting at a small table playing cards. He sat down on one of the few high stools, untidily scattered along the bar, one of which was already occupied by a slumped figure wearing a straw hat.

The barman turned to him ''Can I get you something, son?''

''Rum!''

''I guess you're a pirate.'' the man behind the bar mused.

''What makes you think that?'' the tall man inquired accepting the glass he was handed and in return laying some coins on the wooden bar-top.

''On a day like this hardly anyone is not out on the streets. And the only people who aren't are pirates who can't see the king go. Why do you think I kept my place open?''

The slumped figure lifted it's straw hat clad head and looked towards the conversing men. He looked thoroughly drunk and his red hair was streaking into his half-lidded eyes.

''Damn right you are!'' he said gruffly lifting his mug of ale and saluting ''To the pirate king!'' and then downed the remaining content.

The tall man gave him a weird glance.

''What's your name, kid?'' he asked the redhead.

The straw-hatted man looked at him for a short second with a bewildered expression before turning a massive grin on him ''Shanks! What's yours?'' He offered a hand. ''Ben Beckman.'' the tall man replied shaking the offered hand not being able to hide the small smile that tugged at his lips. There was something about this kid that immediately warmed his heart. Then and there, he knew that this Shanks guy was something special.

''You're pretty young to be this melancholic about Roger's execution. Why aren't you out there with all the other rookies taking one last look at your idol?''

Shanks snorted and pointed at his mug, indicating to the barman to fill it up.

''Can you pay for that, son?'' the gray haired owner of the pub asked quizzically.

''No!'' Shanks answered with a laugh and turned an expectant glance at his new acquaintance.

''I'll pay for him.'' Beckman said without any hesitation; somehow that felt perfectly natural.

''Thanks, pall! I'll have another beer''

The barman turned around with a shrug that seemed to say 'fair enough' and started filling up to more mugs of ale.

''So why aren't you up there?''

The redhead's face turned incredibly sad a heartbreaking smile on his face ''Would you want to see your captain go like that?'' Shanks wasn't quite sure why he immediately admitted to this but he had the innate feeling that he could trust this man. He looked up to see Beckman's reaction to the revelation that he was talking to one of the pirate king's crew, but to his surprise hardly anything changed in the other man's demeanor. Mild astonishment maybe, but nothing more.

''Why aren't you out there, then?'' Shanks asked back.

''I can't watch this scam. Why did he turn himself in? I know that not even Garp could have actually taken him down!''

Shanks smiled again, this time a genuinely good humoured one. ''Nah, no one, alive or dead, could actually take down the old man. I'll tell you why he turned himself in, but I'm sure if I do, you won't want to go around sharing that information with just anybody.'' He winked at Beckman. The slightly older man looked almost bored when he replied ''I don't even think I'll be able to retain that information, doesn't seem to be too important.''

Shanks giggled like a small child and leaned in to Beckman but turned to the barman with a slightly irritated glance. ''D'you mind?'' he said to the old man who was hanging across the surface of the bar quite obviously eavesdropping.

''Sorry!'' the barman said and scuttled off trying to seem busy.

''Listen,'' Shanks said, turning back to the man who was sitting next to him ''the old mans sick. He's gonna die, sooner than later. It's some mystery disease and you can imagine what would happen to his Nakama when he's gone, so he made a deal with the marines. He surrendered and in return they will not lay their hands on any of his crew.''

Beckman gave off a low whistle ''Wow, I don't know what I expected but I know it wasn't that. To be honest, under those circumstances this actually is the best way for him to go... But then again, why aren't you out there and instead hiding out down here?''

Picking up his mug Shanks took another gulp before answering ''I know my captain, I'm sure the nutter is not just going to go out quietly. There'll be some kind of bang to go with his last moments and I really don't want to get caught up in the aftermath.''

''Surprisingly that actually makes sense.'' Beckman replied nodding slowly.

The two men fell into a comfortable silence occasionally drinking from their respective mugs.

Suddenly they could hear a loud roar coming from outside. It sounded like a great mass of people gasping in surprise.

''Told you so!'' Shanks said with a grin swirling the liquid in his mug.

Beckman snickered next to him and then turned around to face his new drinking partner. ''What'll you do now?''

''Dunno, find another band of pirates, or find a girl, or just drink myself to death.'' Shanks replied with a thoughtful stare at his drink.

''You know, I've got a couple of friends who I sail with, you seem like an interesting fellow, why don't you join us?'' Beckman offered.

''I'll join you, if I can be captain!'' Shanks shot back.

''Call me crazy, but that actually sounds like a good idea...captain.'' He held his hand out to the red head who took it with a strong shake ''And you'll be my first mate and we'll conquer the whole grand line!''

The two men started laughing heartily and ordered another round of drinks.

AN: This feels a little chunky, it's most definitely not my best of works but the idea has been pestering me for a couple of days, so I thought I might as well write it. Do tell me what you think, even if it's not pleasant for me!


End file.
